Just Can't Quite
by Sammy'sPeetaBread
Summary: Katniss is in a toxic and abusive relationship with Gale. She tries hard to cover up what's going on, but one day the bakery boy finds out what is happening to her. Can he teach her what real love is, or will she forever be broken?
1. Angels With Dirty Faces

**Summary: Katniss is in a toxic and abusive relationship with the Seam's local bad boy: Gale Hawthorne. She tries hard to cover up what's going on, but one day the local bakery boy finds out what is happening to her. Can he teach her what real love is, or will she forever be broken? Slightly AU. Neither Katniss or Peeta were reaped.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Angels With Dirty Faces<strong>

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><p>I winced at the blaring sound the door made when he slammed it. Trying in vain, I breathed deeply in an attempt to calm my ever so building nerves.<p>

"KATNISS! KATNISS?" he yelled deafeningly. I silently prayed in my head that the neighbors can't hear him. He gets so choleric when our neighbors ask if we are ok, if something happened.

"KATNISS!" he screeched again.

_If he's drunk…. This will turn out ugly._

I almost laugh at my thoughts.

_Whether Gale has been drinking or not, it doesn't matter all that much. Either way, when he's in an irate mood, things will end badly._

Once I have collected my thoughts, I leave my bedroom and nervously take several steps down the staircase.

"Yes, Gale?" I hear myself shyly sputter. I silently curse at myself for sounding so weak.

Loud and pronounced footsteps stop from the kitchen towards the stairs. When his body comes within my sight, I have to remind my self that I need to stay collected. I cautiously watch his movements, and almost gasp when his head snaps up, and his eyes bore into mine.

"Why the FUCK did it take you, so damn long TO ANSWER ME?" Gale angrily questioned me.

In this moment, I want nothing more than to run far far away; and hopefully, never come back. But I don't. I can't. Something keeps me here, with Gale, every night.

I choke back the building anxiety and calmly say, "Oh, sorry Gale. I was upstairs. I don't think I heard you the first time."

It was a brave attempt, but from the manic look on his face, he knows that I'm fibbing.

"Katniss, Katniss, Katniss," He says in a mock-disapproving voice.

He begins to climb up the stairs to the top stair, where I sit. He casually sits down next to me, and then he starts to trace my face with his left hand.

"Good wives should always be waiting patiently for their husbands to come home. They should have a hot dinner ready to be eaten. You haven't done that yet," He states to me, and I unconsciously gulp, "You have been very _very_ naughty… And you must be punished.

Then a sadistic smile climbs onto his face. That sick smile he always wears. The smile he wears before he does something unforgettable to me. It was that smile that I have learned to fear the most.

"G-Gale," I say meekly as I try to push his hand off my face, "Please… The bruises…. The bruises from last time still haven't healed. It's going to be harder for me to cover up new ones, and people are going to become suspicious. Please, can we just go to sleep?"

As soon as I finish, I receive a hard smack to the back of my head - that is his answer.

"Now listen here, Katniss," He spits my name out like venom. He the roughly grabs my hair in both of his hands, "You don't get to call the shots. Ya hear? You're the bitch in the relationship. I am the man. This is normal, Katniss. Why do you keep on insisting that I should submit to everything you want? Where did you learn to be so fucking selfish?"

"I… I… Don't…" I look down at my hands, not knowing what to say.

_Am I really being selfish? Maybe I have been nagging Gale too much. Yes, that must be it. He has been under a lot of stress lately._ I reason to myself. I decide that I am the one in the wrong, and I need to stop causing him so many problems. He works hard to keep the both of us alive, and I just act like he does nothing.

I look into his steel grey eyes and begin to apologize, "I'm so sorry Gale," I wrap my arms around him, "I don't know what has gotten into me. Please, will you forgive me?" I ask sincerely.

He glares at me with a triumphant smirk, leans down so his lips are grazing my ear, and whispers, "Maybe, we'll see."

Then, out of nowhere, he grabs me from my sitting position, flings me over his shoulder, than makes his way towards our bed. He then drops me onto the bed, and proceeds to climb on top of me. We had some really rough sex the other day, and I am not physically or emotionally ready for another round.

"Gale," I whimper, "I don't know if I feel up to sex tonight."

He then raises his arm and then backhands my face. I let out a yelp, as my body flies to the other side of the bed. He slithers his way to me, and then he begins to kiss my neck.

"Katniss," He says in-between kisses, "You don't get to make this decision. Just shut up and take it like a good little whore."

His words sting me. Suddenly, my eyesight becomes blurry, and I try my hardest to keep the tears from falling - crying will only make him more upset. After only thirty seconds I accidentally let out a sniffle. Thankfully, he mistakes the sound for a noise of pleasure.

"Yes, you are a good little whore." He repeats once again.

I cannot help it anymore. Tears begin to slowing stream down my face, and onto his body. He grunts with discontent when they make contact with his skin.

"Why are you crying?" He asks coldly, void of any sympathy.

"I-I'm sorry, Gale. I just… Don't want to have sex, tonight." I shakily reply.

He lets out an irate noise, and then he bites down, hard, on my neck. My lips release a sharp cry of agony when he teeth rip into the sensitive skin on my neck.

"DAMMIT KATNISS!" he yells in pure frustration, "Honestly, how fucking hard is it for you to just lie on your goddamn back and take it?"

Before I can reply, I punches several times on my stomach, arm, and thigh. I try to curl up in pain; however, his hands grasp my body and rip off my clothes. I choke back my now ever so cascading tears, because I know at this point, it's useless to resist.

"Please don't be too aggressive," I quietly ask.

"Oh, Katniss," He remarks, "I will be as rough as I choose to be, and you will enjoy it."

And with that, he unzips his pants, pulls his stiff member out, and the pushes my mouth onto him.

While he continues to press my head up and down, he states, "Tonight, I'm going to fuck the shit out of you."

He then grins wickedly. I know that I am in for another night in hell.

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><p>The slight light coming through the window wakes me up. I slowly begin to sit up against the head board, I grimace moderately while doing so. I tensely glance down at my naked moody. I allow myself to release a tiny sigh of dismay. The skin covering my stomach has several patches of black and blue on it, my legs have small chaotic scratches, and my face… Well I don't really want to know what my face looks like.<p>

I slide off my edge of the bed, being particularly careful to not wake Gale up, and then I make my way over to my dresser.

I pull out a bra, a pair of panties, a green shirt, and a pair of dark grey jeans. Then I soundlessly sneak my way into the bathroom that's connected to our bedroom. Once inside, I just shake my head at the mirror as I stare at the reflection of my face. On my left cheek, I have a nasty purple bruise, several red patches are visible directly under my left eye, and I have a savage bite mark on my neck.

I turn the faucet on and begin to wash my face. Finally, when my face is washed and dried, I whip out my many different types of concealers, and begin to paint away my marks of mistreatment. I then begin to change into my clothes, once I have finished applying my cover up.

I head down the stairs and into the kitchen. My cooking skills really are not that great, and Gale lets me know this every single night. I have just never been one that enjoys to cook, paint, bake, or anything that isn't around the lines of being an athletic hobby.

That's what had attracted me to Gale in the first place. The two of us met years ago in the forbidden woods, and we soon became reliant on each other's skills. We were both so alike. We are both so alike; unfortunately though, once we got married, Gale completely exercised his alpha-male status. I should have stopped him way back then, but at that time I was too naive, I was too much of a pleaser, and (at that time) too in love.

It's funny. Gale and I aren't technically married. We had never actually signed any legal documents at the Justice Building, but instead we only committed the ceremonious toasting in this house.

I turned on a burner on the stove, and placed a pan on top of it. When it became hot, I cracked three eggs onto the pan, and then I began to continuously stir them until they were fully cooked. I placed the eggs onto a round yellow plate, and as an aftertouch, I through on a small pinch of salt.

I placed the plate onto the dinning room table, and then headed outside the house. I had been secretly saving money for the past four months, and as a treat, I decided to buy myself a pastry or two from District Twelve's local bakery.

_Mellark's Bakery_ was practically heaven on earth, well, a very expensive version of heaven. People from the Seam, like me, have a difficult time affording anything from the bakery. Generally, the only time we purchase something from there, would be for graduations, weddings, or celebrations of births.

_But today,_ I smiled to myself. _Today, I get to indulge._

I am twenty-one years old, and I work part-time at the goat ranch. Recently I have been putting a small fraction of my earnings into a jar. That jar is my security, if Gale and I were to ever separate.

_God, if he were to find out…_ I shudder at that thought. _That would be terrible._

I quickly erase any negative thoughts from my head when I become aware that I am standing in front of the bakery. I push open the door, which causes a small bell to jingle, and then I strut up to the counter. My eyes hungrily and greedily stare at all the small and delicate treats that line the inside of the glass counter.

"May I help you?" A voice, that I fairly recognize, asks me.

I tilt my head up to look at who the voice came from. Of course, It's Peeta Mellark. He's probably eighteen now, so it makes sense that he would be promoted to work at the front of the store.

"Katniss, is that you?" He asks when his eye meet my eyes for the first time, "Hi! How have you been?"

I can't help but genuinely smile at the sound of his voice. I will forever remember the way Peeta has a gift with words.

"I'm fine, thank you. A little tired, but doing good," I reply, "And how about you?"

"Right now, pretty good. But let me tell you," He talks to me with such familiarity, that I have to remember that I haven't seen him in over seven months, "I got this nasty burn a couple hours earlier. My older brother, Verick, was doing some sugar work… And he accidentally knocked the molten sugar on my leg. I'd show it to you, but id rather not upset your appetite."

He then smiles extremely cutely and then releases a small laugh of mock-disapproval.

"Oh my gosh," I say, my voice filled with concern, "Are you ok? Did you go to the hospital?"

He gives me a lopsided smile and begins to talk, "Do you think…" He then leans closer to me and in a hushed voice, he whispers, "Do you believe that… that my crazy old woman," he stops for a second and takes several careful looks behind his shoulder, causing me to laugh, "that she would let me take the day off because of some silly little leg wound? Don't be silly Katniss."

I can't help it. I tried to suppress it, but in that moment, he made me feel an instant of happiness. But then I remembered what I was laughing about.

"Peeta," He looks at me, "If your leg hurts too much you can always come by my mother's house. I'm sure she would check out your leg, and make sure no permanent damage has occurred."

"Oh thank god!" Peeta exclaims, "You have no idea how much it hurts!" he says in a carefree manner while smiling.

I smile at him, but I know that his words are probably true. I know that Peeta isn't the type of person that makes a big deal out of anything, and if anything, he's probably in way more pain than he's letting me know.

"No, but seriously. You should come by her house. And if you're shy…," I give him a teasing look, "I'll escort you there myself."

I knew he was lying about the pain, because I can almost see the look of relief wash over his face.

"You'd really do that for me, Katniss?" He asks, touched.

_Awww._ I have just learned that Peeta has the power to melt my heart.

"Yeah definitely, I'll meet you here once you're done with work. When is that?" I ask him.

"Umm… Officially I should be done by 4:30, but knowing my brothers… They will probably be slacking, so I might have to clean the ovens and wash their dishes for them," I tells me.

_Gosh, Peeta is such a good kid. I can't believe he has grown so much. I mean l can basically see his muscles through his shirt…_

"Ok, I'll be here around 4:30 then," I announce, "Alright, well back to why I came here," I smile at him "I would like a chocolate eclair and one of those cookies with the primrose design."

"Yes ma'am!" He says enthusiastically.

After around thirty seconds, I notice that he has added three eclairs and quite a few cookies.

"Oh Peeta, I can't afford that. I only bright enough for one of each," I tell him slightly alarmed.

"Katniss," He almost pleadingly says, "Don't worry about it. These are on me… Just don't tell my mother… Or my burnt leg will be the last of my problems."

And with that he taped the little cardboard box up and placed it in my hand. When I started to protest, he childishly covered my mouth with his hand and pushed me out the door.

"Peeta…" I tried to whine.

"Again, don't worry about it. I've got you covered. And plus, I can't just let you help me without at least offering you a gift to show that I'm thankful," He said sincerely.

I was about to complain again, but the look in his eyes silences me. I settle for nodding, and saying a thank you.

"Well then, I will see you later tonight. Bye Peeta," I tell him.

He then surprises me when he steps up and wraps his arms around me. I surprise myself even more, when I find my arms wrapped around his back.

"Bye, Katniss," He whispers into my ear.

He then walks away, while waving, and resumes his position behind the counter.

I walked away from the bakery with a new found skip in my step.

_I cannot wait for 4:30_ And with that thought I walked back home from the bakery with a smile.

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><p><strong>So, if you don't hate Gale yet… You probably will soon. I know that I just started another story, but I had this idea stuck in my head. I just had to get it out of my head and out into the open. In this story, Gale is 24, Katniss is 21, and Peeta is 18. Yes, Katniss will soon unleash her cougar side. Please review, because I really appreciate them and especially any constructive criticism.<strong>


	2. Face Down, Sunshine

**Thanks for all the reviews :) I really am grateful for them. If you have any questions about the story or perhaps suggestions, then please PM me.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Face Down, Sunshine<strong>

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><p>I impatiently glance up at the clock. The digital clock displays to me that it is 3:23 PM. After my visit at the bakery, I came straight to my mom's house, basically begging her to help Peeta. At first, she was confused by my request; she had probably only met Peeta once or twice before. I myself, haven't stayed in touch with him, besides the occasional times we run into each other, since I've graduated high school.<p>

When I was at school for my final year, Peeta had just entered his freshman year. I remember that all the school lunch ladies would always fawn over him and ask him for help in the kitchen, and he would politely and eagerly oblige. He was such a smart and helpful boy back then, and I suppose he still is today. I can recall how shy he was when he walked into my pre-calculous class, and handed a slip of paper to the teacher. Apparently he was already very advance in math, that his previous instructor requested to transfer him into my class.

I suppose the secret to being a good baker is being able to correctly calculate the ingredients for pastries and breads. When we were given in-class assignments, everyone knew that he finished first, but he was always too timid to answer any questions that the teacher asked.

The two of us actually became semi-good friends that year. I used to ask him for help on the many problems I had trouble with, and in return, I tried to stop any upperclassmen from bullying him.

_Poor Peeta…_ I shake my head as my mind begins to remember the events that took place three and a half years ago.

Peeta was such an uncompetitive guy that he wouldn't even mind if a girl beat him during P.E. He was like his dad: They both lacked to drive to to make someone feel inferior to them. Because of that, he had both a large group of friends and an abundance of combative boys; they saw him as easy prey, and picked on him. Even his two brothers,Verick who was a senior (like me) and Rhai who was a junior, would ridicule him.

Verick was the most like his vile mother. I can recall him being a huge play boy at school. I don't even want to know how many girls he has slept with and then walked out on. Rhai's temperament was a fusion of his two parents. He was probably the most balance of the three - he usually didn't start fights, but he won't take anyone's crap either.

The boys, plus a tiny amount of upperclass girls, would reprimand him on a daily basis. Peeta, being the calm kid he was, would accept the insults with a grain of salt. Not once did he lash out at the bullies. I think I admired that the most about him. He seemed just so self-secured that no amount of teasing could daunt him.

One day; however, junior boy, who's name escapes me, was sexually harassing one of Peeta's best friends, Delly Catwright. The boy was unyielding with tormenting that poor girl. One time, he grabbed her butt, which sent her running into Peeta's arms. We were actually in our pre-cal class when she un-expectantly bursts through the doors, with tears streaking her face.

That was the first time I had ever seen Peeta's temper get tested. After he had gotten over the initial shock, he calmed her down and told her that he would take care of things. When he told her that, she just nodded her head, she hugged him once more, and then she left the classroom.

The next day, Peeta tried to join the school's wrestling club. The boy coincidently happened to be part of that club. Of course, many of the boys just cracked up at him. The president of the club denied him membership almost immediately; nonetheless, Peeta was determined to be a part of the club.

I can remember his exact words to the president, "How about this? If I can beat a member in the club, you will take into consideration my membership?"

The wrestling president could not resist the opportunity to utterly humiliate Peeta, and so he agreed. He asked which member he wanted to take on; of course, Peeta chose the junior that wouldn't stop bothering Delly.

At this point, almost the entire school had heard about this event. Hundreds of students piled into the gym room, ready in anticipation, to watch the 'stupid' boy get knocked around by one of the clubs best wrestlers. When the rumors had reached me, I was shocked and scared for Peeta. I rushed over into the gym just in time to witness the greatest phenomenon in school history.

Shy, freshman, baker boy, Peeta Mellark, had the junior boy pinned in utmost defeat. While he was pinning the boy, he screamed at him telling him if he ever touched Delly again, the sprained shoulder he was about to receive will be the last of his problems. All the boy could do was let out a small whimper and nod his head.

And sure enough, the boy showed up at my house that night, because my mom had to tread his sprained shoulder. He never harassed Delly Catwright again. After that incident, the wrestling club all but begged him to join. He just shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly told them that he doesn't enjoy violence.

Once I was done with my recollections of the past, I checked the clock again. It read 4:10.

_What the heck. Screw it. I'm going now._

I got of the couch, told my mom and prim that I was leaving, and then I raced out the door. I half jogged through the streets of the Seam, and then I picked up my pace a little bit just before I arrived at the town square. When I arrived in front of the bakery, I unconsciously ran my fingers through my hair, trying to make myself look better.

If I were to make an educated guess, I'd say it is about 4:27 right now.

_Perfect timing._ I silently praise myself. I push open the glass door, and make my way into the bakery. Once inside, I see Mr. Mellark behind the counter. I wave politely at him, and he waves back.

"Can I help you with something, miss Everdeen?" He asks, courteously.

"Oh, no thank you," I tell him, "I'm just waiting for Peeta to finish his shift."

"Ah really? He will probably only be a few more short moments, but I'll let him know you're here. Hopefully that will generate some motivation for him to work harder," Mr. Mellark blithely told me.

I nodded my head in thanks towards him, and he turned around and walked into the back of the bakery. A few minutes later, I can hear what sounded like several pots fall down and Mrs. Mellark begin to scream. I smile at this, wondering which Mellark boy was the cause of the mischief. I already can guess that it wasn't Peeta because… well because it's Peeta! Just then, I am greeted by those unclouded, clear blue eyes.

"Hi," he says, curtly.

"Hey," I get off the chair at a table, and walk over to where he stands.

"I'm really sorry about making you wait… Rhai dropped several dishes of icing on the floor… He then ran out of the back of the bakery saying he's late for something, and so I decided to clean it up before my mother became overly irate," Peeta explained.

"Don't worry about it, that's fine," I say honestly, "I just hope that you didn't hurt your leg anymore when you bent down to clean."

I am now concerned about this kids well-being.

"Nah, I doubt it," he casually assumes, "If anything, the walk to your mom's house will be worse."

"I'm sure you will be able to survive!" I playfully told him, while I looped my right arm around his left arm and pulled him towards my mom's house.

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><p>We arrived at my mother's house without to many difficulties; besides Peeta having to stop every few minutes, because of the pain surging through his leg. I walk him over to a burgundy couch and command him to take a seat, he promptly complies.<p>

My mother then walks into the room and greets him, "Hello Peeta, long time no see. How are you feeling?"

"Hello, Mrs. Everdeen. So far I have been pretty good, how are you doing today?" I can see my mom almost melt at the pure form of politeness coming from his voice. That's one thing Gale was never very goof at, talking respectfully.

"I am doing just fine, thank you. Now lets take a look at the leg, shall we?" Peeta nods his head and tentatively lifted the button of hid jeans over his left shin.

My mother and I both audibly gasp at the sight, which causes Peeta's face to slightly pinking.

"I don't think it's too bad…" He says, unsurely.

_Not to bad?_ I think to myself.

His left shin is completely reddened with a copious amount of angry blisters.

"Oh, Peeta!" My mom exclaims, "How could you wait all day to get this treated?"

He nervously bit his lower lip and said, "Well, you know, I had a lot of work that needed to be taken care of first. But don't worry, I did have the time to run a little bit of cold water over it."

"Peeta," I say with a thick sound of concern, "If I had known it was this bad, I would have forced you to come with me in the morning."

Before Peeta could protest, my mother elevated his leg onto our coffee table, and began to treat it. She mixed up a bowl full of various herbs and liquids - which then she plastered onto his burn. Almost instantly, a small, rapid sigh is released from Peeta's mouth.

I watch him with disbelief. Disbelief that he prioritized his baking duties over his own health. Seeing him accept the pain so willingly, strikes a nerve with me. It's not because I'm jealous that he is such a great human being, it is because I notice something that we have in common.

We are both willing to go through pain, without complaining, if it means less drama in our lives. When Gale hurts me, I don't fight back too much, because it would just make things more complicated. I can see that now, when I see Peeta.

"This scar will most likely leave a scar on you body," my mom warns him. He just simply smiles and lets out a light laugh.

"I don't mind. For a baker, it's almost like a badge of honor," he jokes.

I can tell that my mom appreciates this. Most of the time, her patients are in an erratic state. Peeta must be a breath of fresh, amenable air.

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><p>Over the next two weeks, Peeta and I started to hang out together. It was nice. He really was the sweetest, most sensitive boy to ever live in District Twelve. Not once, did he ever act like a stereo typical merchant snob - if anything, he acted, and thought about himself, in the complete opposite way. He has a very self-deprecating humor about him, that I love and dislike. I love it because he's not an ego-maniac, but dislike it because I don't like it when he puts himself down.<p>

During the two weeks, the two of us began to look at different apartment complexes. Peeta has been working long before he can remember, and has been very faithful with saving his money. He had expressed his eagerness to move out of his house, that's over top the bakery, and get his own place. We eventually found a nice, quiet apartment that would suit him just fine. Peeta isn't a hard person to please. He didn't care if the place was fancy or not, he just wanted his independence. We found a cozy apartment that consisted of a small kitchen, a bedroom (with a bathroom attached to it), and a room that could function as a living and dinning room.

One morning, we met up together at our new favorite hangout spot. It was in this beautiful field of wild flowers, just outside the fence. I have been beyond the surrounding fence many of times, but I had never been outside the fence that was on the opposite side of the Seam. I convinced Peeta to go exploring in the woods with me. In the beginning he was slightly nervous, I knew he had never been on the other side of the fence before.

But after exploring the new side of the woods, we came across this small clearing. It was covered in flowers and the greenest grass I have ever seen. Now, every other morning (when he has the mornings off), Peeta and I share a sunrise with a hot cup of coffee.

We just sit next to each other, in a relaxed silence - just enjoying the different shades of yellows and oranges streak across the sky.

After a few minutes of silence, Peeta breaks it, "I wish I could just stop time, and live in this moment forever," he says poetically, "I mean, I don't remember the last time I was ever this… Peaceful."

I nod my head in agreement. I then lay my head down, against the grass, raise my mug of coffee towards Peeta, "To our sun rises together, may we always find peace."

He turns his body towards my general direction, and then clinks his mug against mine, repeating, "Always."

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><p>"KATNISS! Fuck! Katniss get the shit down here!"<p>

I almost literally leap out of my skin! I am momentarily frozen by Gale's sudden outburst. We had just finished eating dinner, and I went upstairs to get ready for bed.

_Whatever that just happened… Is really bad._

I rush down the stairs, now overly worried with what is wrong with Gale. As soon as I enter the living room, I automatically regret coming down. His face only reads pure fury.

He glares daggers at me, "Katniss, I just got of the phone with my friend Isacar. Do you know what Isacar just told me?" He asks dangerously.

"No, what did he say?" I am confused and scared to find out.

"Isacar called me to mention to me about a couple certain people," He says while examining me closely.

"Ok… Is something wrong?"

"Yes, actually something is very much so wrong! He told me that he has seen you several times frolicking with the youngest frosting princess!" He bellows out accusingly. My face pales.

"I… I can explain that," I carefully counter.

"Ok then. PLEASE FUCKING EXPLAIN! Because to me, it sounds like you're having an AFFAIR behind my back!"

"Gale, I'm not having an affair. Peeta is just a very good friend of mine!" I almost yell.

I never did anything with him that should betray Gale's trust in me. Yet, I have found myself several times wondering what it would have been like if we ended up together instead. Maybe that's why I can feel the anger and defensiveness build up in me, possibly the way I feel about Peeta might be changing.

"Don't give me that 'just friends' bull shit! Both you and me already know, that you are sneaking around right before me!" He exploded. The back of his hand also exploded on my face.

I find myself falling to the ground, hard. I quickly move my hand to my nose, and I can feel the blood now pour out of it.

"I have had enough of your defiant ways! I am the ONLY man you're allowed to have in your life. Well besides your father, and he's DEAD!" I now feel a a current of fury course through my body at Gales cheap, jibe.

"Shut up! Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!" I astonish myself when I hear the malice in my voice. It's been years since I have ever truly challenged Gale. "You have NO right. You have no right to talk about my father," I admonished him.

"You don't get to order me around!" He sends a fleeting, powerful kick upon my crouching form. I cry out loudly from the pain, positive he broke several ribs.

At this point in time, there is no doubt that our neighbors can hear everything, but they won't do anything. Domestic abuse is very common and accepted here, in the Seam. Husbands come home from their shitty jobs, take their frustrations out on their wives; unfortunately, wives will then take their hapless lives out on their children. The children will then grow up miserable and the entire cycle will start all over again.

I suppose I shouldn't say that domestic violence is unshared to the Seam. I remember days when some of the merchant children, Peeta in particular, would have bruises covering their bodies. Domestic abuse is rampant in District Twelve.

I collect myself from the kick, and sit my back against a nearby wall. I look up just in time to see Gale coming at me again, this time I plunge my palm into his nose. This makes him curse without abandon, as he holds his nose. The pain is easily read on his face.

_Good. I hope it's broken._

He quickly retaliates by grabbing my hair and pushing me face down, on the floor.

"Bitch, I'm going to make sure you regret that… Fucking cunt," He spits at me while he tears the back of my shirt open.

I can't see what he's doing, but then I suddenly feel it. I begin to thrash uncontrollably, which only makes the agent worse, as I feel my skin being severed by a knife.

"S-stop!" I half choked half screamed.

"No. You need to be reminded who's in charge. Every time you fantasize about disobeying me, you just remind yourself about this scar. You should actually thank me, it'll keep you in line," he self-righteously told me.

Pools of hot tears began to collect between the floor and my face. Gale kept slashing away randomly at my back. My mind is in a frenzy, almost overcome by pain. I tried to get up, but he would just press my face harder into the cool, wood floor. I can feel my clothing become laden with wetness, wetness from the blood that flows from me.

Finally, he seemed to have finished. He got off my back and whispered, "Sweet dreams, my love." That's when I felt him lift my head up, and then slam it back into the ground.

Blackness encircles me.

* * *

><p><strong>That was very hard to write, but I think it was necessary for the story. When I read the Hunger Games, I thought it was a little unrealistic how only Peeta's mom was mentioned to be abusive. If you think about it, domestic abuse should be very prominent in the Seam, prominent in Panem. Everyone in the districts live suppressed lives, because of the Capitol. So I don't think it should be hard to believe that abuse is a common occurrence. It's sad, but I want to keep this story as realistic as possible. That's another reason why I had Katniss try to fight Gale off, I don't think her personality would allow her to just take his beatings without attempting to fend him off. I'm going to say it right here and now, this story will probably not be a very glamorous story. It will focus on oppression on different levels, and some of the topics will be heavy (and sometimes uncomfortable). I apologize, beforehand, if I offend anyone. Also I have yet to decide if the story will have a happy ending or not. Now on that dark note, I would love to hear some opinionsthoughts about the story, and how you imagine the story going. I read every single review carefully, and try to best apply them to help my story grow.**

**Thanks for reading,**

**Sammy**


	3. Paper Wings

**Attention: If you do not care about Peeta's age, feel free to skip this long author's note.**

**Peeta's age has became sort of controversial! When I was writing the story, I knew I wanted him younger. Funny thing is, I kept changing his age back from 18 to 21, over and over and over again. I was/am kinda of nervous about what people were going to think about it. So you all deserve an explanation. I didn't make him younger in terms of Katniss age, but more so in terms of Gale's age. I wanted him to be substantially younger than Gale; on the flip side, I didn't want Katniss to be that much younger than Gale. Basically, I wanted Peeta to be a foil of Gale. Whereas, Gale is older, more experienced, grittier, exudes excessive testosterone, angrier, etc… And Peeta is younger, more innocent (better yet, less tainted), happier, and more peaceful. Katniss just happened to fit in right between their age range. So I guess instead of thinking about Peeta being that much younger than Katniss, think about him being that much younger than Gale.**

**Aside from Gale, I also wanted Peeta to be younger so he's less experienced with life. He can easily accept people at face value, and usually doesn't try to find reasons to doubt what people say. Since he had just graduated high school, he hasn't been burned as many times, so he doesn't question the actions of other people. But at the same time, I needed Katniss to be much more suspicious and doubtful. So those are the main reasons why Peeta's 18.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3. Paper Wings<strong>

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><p>BANG BANG BANG<p>

I am aroused from my sleep by a thudding against my front door. I stand up, too quickly, and I instantly regret it. For a moment, I wonder why my back is singing with pain - unfortunately I remember all too soon.

_I can't believe he went that far._ I honestly think. Yes, Gale has crossed the line many times, but he has never used a knife before. _I really don't know what to do. What has happened to me? Where did my confidence go?_

BANG BANG BANG

My head snaps up in the direction of the door, now remembering what woke me up.

"Yes?" I call loud enough for the person outside to hear.

"Katniss?" Shit. "You didn't make it to the clearing. I came here to make sure you were ok," I hear Peeta announce from the other side of the door.

I completely forgot that I made plans to meet up with him today. Well, I guess that's not really the thing I think about as I bleed out on the floor.

_Lie. Lie. Lie. Think of a lie!_

If Peeta finds out about what happened last night, he would surely become upset. Ok, well more than upset. If he freaked out over the Delly situation, and I know that he was in other similar situations before, he would go ballistic over this.

"Oh! Sorry Peeta," I force my voice to sound hoarse, which isn't that hard. "I woke up sick this morning… and I couldn't make it out," I make sure I include a cough or two.

Saying I'm sick really isn't that far of a stretch. I feel terrible. Aside from my back, I am sleep deprived, malnourished, and have a splitting head ache.

"Can I come in?" He asks all too innocently.

_Think. Think. Think._

"Ok, just let me clean up for a quick second," I let him know.

Once I hear him say "sure," I quickly walk upstairs to get changed. I only had to clean a small spot of blood, because Gale (always the gentleman) already cleaned up most of it. I make it into my room, I rip the clothes from my dresser, and then I throw them onto my body. I then go into the bathroom to check my reflection in the mirror, making sure I appear to be recently inured to disease. I really do look sick. I begin to believe that all the blood loss is the cause for that.

When I'm satisfied with my appearance, I semi-hobble back down the stairs. I take a deep breath, as I approach the door.

_Just act normal. Just act sick._

I place my hand on the door, _You Can't Turn Back Now,_ and slowly turn the knob. When the door is fully open, I look up at Peeta - he has a moderately concerned expression adorned on his face.

"Hi," he says mutely. "How are you feeling?"

"Hey, Peeta. It's a funny story…" I mentally kick myself for my word choice. "When I woke up today, I felt absolutely terrible." _That's definitely not a lie. _"I think I must have caught a cold or something."

I am relieved when Peeta buys my story and says, "Oh Katniss… Do you want me to make you some tea? You know what? I think I have some fever medicine at home. Let me go get it."

Before Peeta can turn around, I grab him by the arm. "I don't think I'm sick enough for medicine, tea would be lovely, though."

I am actually surprised to find out that he has fever medicine. If I remember what my mom said correctly, that type of medicine isn't too cheap. There is no way I can let him give me some, for my fake illness. Although, I have heard, the pills do help relieve pain.

"Ok, sure," Peeta said with a hint of a smile. He took my hand off his arm, and walked outside before I could say anything. A few seconds later, he strolled back in with two paper, coffee cups in his hands. "I figured, when you didn't show up, that you weren't feeling to good. Here, I bought you some lemon ginger tea. The barista told me it's supposed to be soothing," and with that he handed me one of the piping hot cups - I gratefully accept his offer.

Right then and there, I feel a slight pricking and stinging sensation behind my eyelids.

_Ugh, Peeta is such a nice, caring kid. Don't you dare cry in front of him._

I must have been making a strange face, because he then asks me, "Is your sickness getting worse?" His clear blue eyes are welled up with concern.

I take a deep breath and shake my head, "No, I'm fine. Thanks. And thank you so much for the tea," I don't think he realizes just how touched I am. I drink some of the tea, it tastes amazing. Then I realize, it's because there is honey in the tea. Honey is not cheep by any means, this makes me feel guilty. "Wait here, let me reimburse you."

Now it's his turn to gently grab my arm, before I can leave to find my wallet. "Katniss, I wouldn't have bought it for you, if I expected you to pay for it. So please, let me be selfish this one time, and pay for it," why does this boy have to be so amiable all the time?

"But Peeta… At least allow me to make this up to you. I can -" Before I could complain anymore, he quieted me by placing a finger to my lips.

"Don't worry about it. Please? And plus, you're sick. You should be thinking about yourself right now. I'm worried about you, you know? You look three shades lighter than your natural skin tone, and that scares me," the anxious quality in his voice and expression, make him appear much younger. In this moment, he looks so naive, vulnerable.

All I want to do, now, is hug him, tell him that everything is going to be ok - I want to find out what is haunting him, and chase away the monsters from under his bed. I see a scared boy. But at the same time, I know that this boy can turn into a man, instantly, if something precious to him is threatened.

_I wonder what he would do if he found out about Gale._ I stop myself there, because he can never find out. I don't know how I could handle it, if he actually did know.

"Don't worry about me. I wasn't feeling good last night, so I skipped dinner… and well breakfast for that matter. Now I guess my skin coloration is paying for that," I tried to keep my voice as level as possible.

Again, Peeta buys what I said, without question. "Being sick, and starving yourself… Isn't probably the best combination in the world. Though, I can understand not wanting to eat. Nothing worse then throwing up." I can't help but think about how cute he looks when he pretends to shudder.

"Yes, that is the very worst. I have to agree with you," I playfully say, thankful that he can easily lighten the mood.

_Now, if I was just a few years younger…. and not unofficially married… _I try to stop my thoughts, but after two years of being with someone that doesn't have a nurturing side, being around the always tenderhearted Peeta does have a strong appeal. _Maybe Gale was right, in a way. Not about me cheating… Physically, but maybe I am cheating on him mentally._ I never thought about it until now, but now that I have, I'm not as distraught as I probably should be.

"Tell you what," Peeta says, snapping me out of my thoughts, "I know this one recipe that I usually make, when someone in my family gets sick. It's quite miraculous, actually, I swear it won't upset your stomach. I'll make it for you." He finishes with a scent of pride in his voice.

"You cook?" I ask him, pleasantly surprised.

Peeta gives me an adorable grin and answers, "Absolutely, I do."

I smile at the sureness in his voice.

"What? You don't really assume that my _mother_ would actually cook, do you? Heavens no! When I was around five, she told me, 'son, Mrs. Henther is going to give you cooking lessons. From now on, I expect you to make meals for your brothers. Don't mess this up.' It was one of my more terrifying experiences. I remember every time I screwed up and wasted ingredients, I'd earn a good smack. At that time, I hadn't started working at the bakery yet, so she had to find something I could be useful at."

"That does sound terrifying," I jokingly agree with him.

"Oh it was beyond traumatizing. You have no idea," he says overly dramatic, but I can also hear a small twinge of seriousness.

"Does somebody need a hug?" I tease.

"Absolutely, I do." He says again.

I beamed at him and walked towards him with my arms open. He took two steps in my direction, and then engulfed me in his arms. He then leaned down and smooched his face into my shoulder, and made faux whimpering noises. Playing along with the facade, I patted his back and murmured "there, there. It'll be aright."

I'm not sure if I'm saying it to him as a joke, or if I'm more saying it to myself. I can't help but recall the _incident_ from last night. WIth the recent memory now stuck in my head, I embrace Peeta with a new found yearning for security. The hug that started out as a joke, has now turned into much more for me.

_I wonder if Peeta can tell?_

Peeta has great intuition when it comes to moments like these, but I doubt he'll mention anything without me talking first. That's just who he is. It's not until he squeezes me tighter on my shoulders that I realize a few tears have taken flight from my eyes and fallen onto his neck.

"Katniss?" He breathes into my hair, "Are you in pain?"

Sometimes I hate his intuitiveness.

When I don't say anything, he pulls away from our hug, but keeps his hands on my shoulders. He looks me in the eyes and gently asks, "Why are you crying?"

I advert my eyes from his gaze and just shake my head.

"You can tell me anything. You know that right? I won't say anything to anyone," his eye then look upward, he does that when he's deep in thought. He looks back at me and with a serious voice, says, "Did Gale do something?"

I'm not too shocked that he asked this question. In the recent past, I have complained about him to Peeta. He knows that we are in a _rough_ patch in our relationship, he just doesn't know how bad it is. For the past two-three weeks, Peeta has been my go-to guy for venting all my frustrations about Gale. He actually gives great advice; unfortunately, I can't use any of it, because Peeta doesn't know Gale's abusive. I'm sure if he knew, then his advice would be perfect for me. But I just can't tell him. I don't want to bring him into any of this.

"Last night, Gale and I had a pretty big fight," I say honestly, "I haven't seen him since our fight. Peeta you don't understand, the anger and rage in his eyes… was almost unbearable to look at."

"Oh, Katniss…" Peeta mumbles apologetically. "If I had a wife that was so sick she refused food, the last thing I would do is get in a fight with her."

"What would you do?" I meekly question. I can almost feel a small, sad smile prick at the corners of my lips - I know he's trying to cheer me up.

"Hmm… Well first of all," he walks behind me, places his hands on the back of my shoulders, and attentively leads me to the stairs. "I would make sure she's comfortable in bed, you know, not overexerting herself."

He walks me up the stairs and then into my room. Once inside, he carefully pushes me onto my bed, and then he pulls a blanket over my arms. "Once she's resting in bed, I would make sure she had a nice cup of hot tea; however, I already got that part covered," he said, while motioning towards my tea that he placed on my night stand.

"You're already one step ahead of yourself… You overachiever," I am now trying my hardest to focus on Peeta and forget about what happened with Gale.

"Yes, I know. After the tea, I'd go downstairs and make her some fantastic tasting soup, that she can actually eat without worry of it coming back up. But then, I'd remember that the kitchen doesn't currently stock the ingredients for this amazing soup, so I'd go into town and by them." I was so caught up in listening to the sound of his melodic voice, that I just understood what he was implying.

"I can't ask you to do that. I can't make you make me a soup, much less buy the ingredients for it." I try to tell him, but he's already making his way to the door.

"Too little too late, Katniss! You see, you're not allowed to leave that bed until you feel better… So you really can't stop me. And plus, this is a special soup. It can heal your stomach and whatever is going on with Gale," he tells me over his shoulder. "Bye, I'll see you in about forty-five minutes, hopefully."

I hear his footsteps on the stairs as he trudges downwards, then I hear the door open and close.

I release a sharp breath and hold my head in my hands.

_Peeta Mellark, why do you do this to me? I'm freaking married! …sorta._

* * *

><p>I was reading a book when Peeta came back. I was quite impressed - he was only gone for approximately thirty-eight minutes. I am still reading my book, but I am also now waiting impatiently for him to finish. The splendid smell, wafting upstairs from the kitchen, more than teases my nose. I wanted to go into the kitchen and help him, but he wouldn't allow it. Blondie won't even allow me out of my bed. So he leaves me here to suffer, while my poor stomach growls.<p>

"Peeta! Are you almost done yet?" I call out, growing restless.

I hear his footsteps trek upwards. My door slowly opens, and Peeta peaks his head into my room. "You know you really shouldn't shout. It might give you a headache," he dares to lecture me.

"B-but I'm hungry…" I whine like a small child.

This causes him to smile, which then causes me to smile. "Have no fear, Kat. It's almost done. I'll bring it up in…" he checks his watch, "five minutes. Ok?"

"Ok," I whisper.

He gives me one more lingering smile, and then walks back down the stairs and into the kitchen. I can hear a couple pots and pans bang against each other, and I can only guess what's going on.

_I hope he's not making a mess. Gale hates it when the kitchen gets dirty._

While I wait, I begin to wonder if having Peeta in my house cooking me lunch, while Gale is away at work, would be considered cheating. I don't think it is, because we don't do anything… Romantic with each other. But the fact that I don't want Gale to find out about Peeta's home visits, might mean I feel guilty about it.

_But do I feel guilty? Do I truly feel guilty about Peeta coming over?_ I think I'm more guilty about the concept of having a man (who is not my husband) over at my house, then actually having Peeta over.

I can now hear Peeta walk up the stairs, and a couple of dishes rattling. He walks over to me and lays a tray on my lap. I stare cravingly at the soup bowl, and pick up a spoon off the tray.

I glance up at Peeta, "Thank you so much! I think I might just love you."

Peeta's facial expression changes briefly, but then he's quickly able to regain his composure. "Eat up, you deserve it," he remarks.

I greedily submerge my spoon into the mouth-watering concoction. Once I am satisfied with the amount on my spoon, I lift it to my mouth and sip the soup off it. Delicious. Absolutely delicious. How I was able to survive for twenty-one years and not know what bliss tastes like is way besides me.

"I hope it's ok… I'm afraid I might have left it on the stove too long," the genius cook says self-consciously.

"Ok? Oh my capitol, this is extraordinary! I didn't know it was even possible for food to taste this yummy," I praise him enthusiastically.

He blushes. I want to squeal out loud at his adorableness, but I have the sense to keep it in. Instead, I settle with making a satisfied moan.

"I don't know if I'd say 'extraordinary,'" he looks at his hands in complete humility.

"It's ok, you don't have to know. I _know_. I know that its extraordinary," I wish he wasn't so humble sometimes.

"Thanks, Katniss. I should be leaving now," my head snaps up to look at him.

"Why?" I grouse. I am not ready for him to leave yet.

"I would love to stay longer, but my shift at the bakery is about to start," he explains. "We actually have a few cake orders that I need to do. I'll see you later. Hopefully then, you'll be feeling better."

"I wish you could stay longer, but I guess duty calls. Bye Peeta, come visit me soon," I basically plead.

"Bye, Katniss," he whispers, and then he leaves.

I don't start eating again until I hear the front door click shut.

* * *

><p>"Katniss, I'm home!" I am awakened at 10:45 by Gale's robust voice. "Oh hey! You made dinner!"<p>

When I hear that, I become childishly upset. That soup wasn't made for him, Peeta made it for _me_. I hear some clicking and clanking noises, and then I hear Gale trample up the stairs. He bursts into our bedroom with a pleased smile on his face. His nose is a deep shade of pink, and it is adorned with a small bandage.

"Oh my lord! This soup is spectacular! When did you get so good at cooking?" I look at his hands and see that he's gripping onto his own bowl of soup.

"I don't know. I just decided to try a new recipe. I'm glad you like it," I lie.

"I don't like it, I love it. Whatever you did, you should keep doing it," this is the most praise I have received from Gale in a long while. Sadly, he's actually indirectly praising my favorite baker.

"Well I'm glad you like it," I say with a fake smile.

_Maybe Peeta wasn't joking when he said that this will fix what happened with Gale. His soup has put him in the best mood I have seen him in this week._

"Catnip," he says while taking my hands into his own. "I want to talk about what happened last night."

"Talk about what?" I really do not want to have this conversation right now.

"Don't play dumb, you know what I'm talking about."

"Ok, what do you want to talk about then?" I concede.

"I just need you to understand why I lashed out at you. I was upset about hearing from my friend that you might be having an affair. You gotta understand where I'm coming from, there is nothing more humiliating than having a friend tell me that my wife is fucking an eighteen year old. I guess, I just sort of lost it." This is probably the closest Gale will ever come to apologizing to me.

I debate whether or not I should take advantage of his good mood - I decide that I should. "You scared me so much when you grabbed the knife," I whisper sadly.

"I wish I didn't have to do it. It won't happen again as long as I don't feel threatened," I think he's trying to sincerely comfort me.

_He's terrible at it._

I simply nod my head at him and decide to change the subject, "You're in a really good mood tonight. Did something happen?"

I can see a glint in his eyes when he says, "Yeah, something happened. But don't worry about it. It doesn't concern you."

For some reason, maybe Peeta's intuition is rubbing off on me, his statement unnerves me.

* * *

><p><strong>Two Hours Earlier<strong>

I've been in a fantastic state of mind since my visit to Katniss' house. I worked happily through my shift without wanting to wake a break. My brothers and dad all appreciated my extra hard work, because I would help them out with their own projects. Twenty minutes ago, my family the bakery to run errands, hang out with friends, or go on dates. Today is my turn to close up the bakery.

I usually don't enjoy having to close up shop, it means I have extra work to do. But now, I'm thankful, because I plan on making strawberry mousse for Katniss. I have to make a large batch of strawberry mousses for tomorrow, so my parents won't notice if I make the batch just big enough for an extra mousse cup.

_I hope she likes strawberries._

Life really is unfair. I have liked Katniss since I was in elementary school when I saw her sing in the middle school's choir. I don't think she even knew I was alive back then. That was hard for me, but then it got worse. When I entered high school, I fell head over heels in love. It was so frustrating, since she only saw me as a freshman boy. And then, then it got weird. I told my dad that I had a crush on her; in return, he decided to traumatize me my telling me he and Mrs. Everdeen were once engaged.

I thank my lucky stars every single night that Katniss and I are not siblings today.

It is now 8:55, I decide to close the bakery five minutes early. I casually stroll up to the door and flip the sign around so "closed" is displayed to the outside world. I then walk into the back of the bakery where we make all of our merchandise. I grab some strawberries, sugar, eggs, and heavy cream. I pour an exact amount of cream, to make 49 individual mousse cups, into a large, copper mixing bowl. As I start whisking the cream, I hear the bakery door open with a jingle.

"Sorry, we're closed for the night," I say as I walk into the room. Before I can stand behind the counter, I look at who entered, and I stop dead in my tracks.

"Oh, we're not here to buy anything. Don't worry. We're just here to have some friendly conversation," Gale Hawthorne says to me in a twisted voice. His face sports a devious smile.

I don't think I would have been so tense if only Gale was standing in front of me. Instead, two other tall, grungy men are standing to his sides.

"Did you come here to talk cookies?" I asked light heartedly.

I was trying to lessen the tension in the room, but it seems to only make them angrier.

"Shut the fuck up!" Gale screeches.

I'm taken aback a bit, but I'm able to swiftly gather myself again.

"Listen," he now says a bit more calmly. "I know that you and my wife have been sneaking around my back. I'm here to tell you that I don't appreciate my wife getting fingered by frosting fingers."

"Katniss and I have never done anything of that nature," I tell him with complete confidence.

"Listen," he says dangerously. "Leave my wife alone, and no one will get hurt."

"Are you threatening me?" I ask.

Gale walks up to me, and before I can react, he slugs me in the stomach. He then bends down and menacingly states, "No, I'm promising you."

He then gives me a swift kick before leaving the bakery with his friends.

While I lay on the tile floor, grasping my stomach, fear begins to take over my entire body. This fear is not felt for myself.

_If he can casually attack me…_ I can barely bring myself to continue thinking. _What has he done to Katniss?_

* * *

><p><strong>I'm quite proud of myself, this chapter (before adding the horizontal lines) is approx. 4,600 words long. I have to admit, in the beginning, it was a little cruel of me to have Peeta so so so close (literally) to finding our about Katniss. Who thought Peeta was going to find out right there and then? I knew what was going to happen, but I still caught myself holding my breath thinking, "Oh sweet Jesus, he's going to find out. He's going to find out." I pray that you're hopes weren't raised to high when you read it, because mine certainly were. <strong>

**In the future chapters, I think the story will be less vigorous with the amount of physical abuse; having said that, it will delve into into a few other heavy topics. If you have a hard time reading about certain topics, PM me those topics - I'll make sure you are warned (without spoiling the story) before I publish any chapters containing any specific topics.**

**I'd like to say a special thanks to my new beta vanelo159! She now makes sure that the quality of my stories are better for you all.**

**Please review :) **


	4. You Found Me

**I do believe that this is the chapter that everyone has been waiting for. I also apologize for updating so late. I wish I could say that I'll be quicker with my updates, but in reality, I think that won't be possible. Maybe when this semester ends, I'll be able to start updating weekly again. Please enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: You Found Me<strong>

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><p>Today, I am in a abnormally bright and cheery mood. I had no problems with Gale yesterday - he ate his soup and then he went straight to bed. This morning, he ate his breakfast and then headed off to work.<p>

_Today is going to be a good day._ I think to myself as a turn the shower on. _I have a coffee date with Peeta, later I have work, and then maybe I'll buy a cupcake from Peeta's bakery._

I hold my hand under the sprinkling water, and I wait for the temperature to rise. Our heating system is very bad. The water temperature will never rise above being barely warm. Once my hand is satisfied with the warmth, I strip all of my clothes and tentatively step inside the shower. The cuts on my back sting where the water droplets make contact with my skin, but overall I feel pretty relaxed. I reach for the ever slippery soap, and begin to wash any away any dirt from my body.

_I wish I had the money to buy those fancy shower gels that they cell in town._ I regrettably think to myself. For some reason, I feel the uncontrollable urge of wanting to smell exceptional for Peeta.

Now, my cuts are more irritated from the soap bubbles that are seeping into their crevices. I hurriedly try to wash them away; it's hard though, when I can't see where my hands are scrubbing. I scrunch up my nose and wrinkle my forehead when my left hand brushes, a little too hard, against a large bruise across my abdomen. Minus the cuts on my back, my current condition has now beam normal to me. That's what you get for marrying the wrong man.

I finish taking my shower, and then I go to relieve myself. When I start to urinate, I feel an intense burning sensation. I'm caught off guard since I haven't had sex with Gale for a while now; in addition, even though it's pretty rough sex, I never felt such intense pain from peeing.

_Maybe I have a UTI? I'm sure my mom has something for that._ There is nothing worse than having the only healer in the Seam, be your mother.

"Katniss?" I hear a voice call from down stairs.

Because I'm upstairs inside a closed room, I can't tell who it is, but I put on my clothing very quickly.

"Katniss?" The voice now calls for urgently.

When I pull my shirt on over my head, I briskly jog down the stairs. I see a very unsettled Peeta sitting on my couch in the living room.

"What are you doing here?" I don't say this in a mean way, I'm just quite confused.

At the sound of my voice, Peeta turns his head to look at me, and I swear I can see relief wash over his face.

"Oh, thank god," he breaths out.

"Peeta what's going on?" I cautiously question.

Peeta looks apologetically at the front door and says, "Sorry for coming in like this. I knocked earlier, but no one answered. When I called your name, and no one answered, I began to freak out."

"Forget about that. What's wrong?" His strange behavior is starting to scare me.

He looks at me as if he's trying to find something. He must have found what he was looking for, or gave up because he looks back at my face.

"Katniss? When did you get that bruise?" he gestures at me. "Right there on your right arm. Or the one on your neck?"

My hand flashes up to cover the bruise on my neck. How could I be so stupid? I forgot to put my coverup on when I heard someone call my name, and now I have to explain these bruises.

I force a fake giggle from my mouth, "These bruises? I… I… Um. I was at work, and an out of control goat ran into me. Knocked be straight onto the ground!" I wince at my own pathetic excuse for a lie.

"Please don't get mad when I say this, and if I'm wrong I'm very sorry," Peeta apologizes before and. "Is the hypothetical goat's name Gale Hawthorne?"

I can literally feel my entire face turn white, and all the muscles in my body stiffen.

"W-what?" I choke out.

Peeta gives me a sympathetic smile. It's like he already knows the answer, but I don't understand how. He's only met Gale a few times before, and I don't think it would be enough for him to deduce that he's abusive.

"Of course not, what are you talking about?" I say this as if he just told the best joke ever.

"Um, well… Last night, Gale actually came to visit me at the bakery," I think my already white face just got paler.

"Gale d-did what?" I croak.

"Yeah, he came by the bakery with a couple of his friends…" he says too casually.

Gale's actions have taken me by surprise. I'm not sure if I should start apologizing to Peeta even though I have no idea if Gale did anything or not, but if Peeta is mentioning it then something had to have happened.

"Peeta what did Gale do?" I interrogated forcefully.

"It's not really a big deal, I'm just here to check up on-"

"What. Did. Gale. Do?" I interrupt him.

I watch Peeta's shoulders raise and then fall as he sighs.

"He told me that he doesn't like it when I hang out with you," I know he's not telling me everything.

"Anything else?"

I can tell that Peeta is having an inward debate with himself about whether or not he should tell me. Once he finishes deciding, he puts on a sour expression.

"Well, I might have taken a punch or two, but it's really no big deal," Peeta explains as he raises his shirt above his waist.

The kid is toned. I then see a reddish-purple color on his lower abdomen, and I know all to well, from experience, that the color will only darken.

"Gale attacked you?" I almost shriek out.

Peeta winces at the sound of my voice. He looks around uncomfortably as he nervously scratches the back of his head.

He gives me a look, like he's struggling on telling me the truth, when he says, "Well maybe it wasn't really an attack. It was just a punch… and a … kick."

"I'm going to have to talk to Gale about this," I am pissed off. It's one thing for him to hurt me, but he is not allowed to harm my friends - especially Peeta who is six years younger than him.

"Katniss, please," Peeta gives me those too damn cute, puppy eyes. "I'm fine, really. I didn't come here to complain about what happened. I'm here to make sure that you're ok?"

I think that when Peeta woke up today he decided 'I'm going to go to Katniss' house today, and try to say as many things that will leave me tongue tied.

"Uh… what?" I asked confused.

"Uhm…" Peeta starts with an anxious voice. "Well, I don't want to make any… assumptions… But does, does Gale ever… Ah never mined. It's not important."

I know that he wanted to ask something, but I don't press him for details. There is always a chance that he wants to ask me about if Gales does to me what he did to Peeta. I don't know what I would say if he asked me that.

"Ok, well I'll make sure to talk to Gale about his late night visits. I am so, so sorry about what happened," I inform him.

"No, it's fine. I don't want to cause you any trouble. Don't worry about it," he tells me.

Peeta then lets out a small sigh and bids me a good bye. I try to ask him if he wants to come in and drink some tea, but he tells me that he's fine. Once he leaves, I decide that I should stop by at my mother's place. Today's Saturday so Prim should be out of school, maybe I'll bring her to the bakery. She loves Peeta's cakes.

I walk into my bathroom, and just as I'm about to go, I notice that my underwear is spotted with blood droplets.

_This is weird. I swear I had my period just a week and a half ago. I've been pretty regular for many years now._

If I ever get the courage, I'll bring it up to my mother later today.

* * *

><p>Several hours after thinking (about the PeetaGale situation) and milling around my house, I leave for my mom's place. It's awkward to talk to her about having a urinary track infection, but it has got to be done. This isn't the first time that I've needed one of her many remedies for my never regions; on the other hand, the last time I needed her help was seven years ago when I still lived with her. Ever since I've started having sex, it's uncomfortable to ask her personal questions about myself.

I walk on the dirt road, following all the twist and turns it makes. I can feel the edges of small pebbles through the worn down soles of my leather boots. The bottom of my boots have tattered squares of different color leather that I have sewn together to patch up my shoes.

I eventually find myself in front of my old childhood home. It might just be my imagination, but for some reason, the house seems to emit an ominous ambiance.

_Here goes nothing._ I think uneasily.

I take the last few heavy steps to the front of the door, and knock. Then I wait. I fidget as I hear the sound of feet approaching the door. For some reason, I feel like I'm going to come home unhappy.

The door swings open, my mom is standing there with a warm smile on her face, "Hi, sweetheart! It's been so long."

"Hi, mom. How have you been?" My voice sounds rigid.

"I've been doing well, but what about you? Are you ok?" She looks worried. I know she picked up on my tone of voice.

"I've just been having a pretty bad day. But it'll work itself out," I answer hopefully.

"Is it troubles with Gale?" she questions.

_Nail on the head, mom, nail on the head._ She is too good at this.

I try to play it of coy, "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I'll have you know, I was once married too. Believe it or not, your father and I used to fight sometimes," she expertly replies.

"Yeah, i guess that's true… Can I come in?" I try to change the subject.

"Of course, honey. Come on in," she says as she steps to the side of the door.

I walk in and I take a seat on her couch, she sits next to me.

"So what's up?" She asks. She knows that I didn't come here to talk about my life. Ever since I 'married' Gale, I haven't stopped my here that often. I'm now feeling a little more than guilty about that.

"Well…" I start to say awkwardly, "this morning when I was going to the bathroom… I felt this intense burning pain. I think I might have a UTI. Do you have any medicine for that?"

My mom looks a little surprised from my request. I don't blame her since we aren't a really open family - I don't like to share my problems with her.

"Alright, do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" She asks politely.

_When did we ever become so formal with each other._

I nod my head as my 'yes' to her question.

"These might be a little personal so I'm sorry ahead of time," she warns.

_Oh boy._

"Where you exposed to a large group of people in close quarters?"

"No," I reply, my eyebrows furrow in confusion.

"Have you been wet for a long period of time?"

"Um… You're going to have to elaborate on that one," I tell her, frazzled.

She blushes when she realizes her phrasing.

"Have you worn wet clothing for a long length of time?" She says a bit more prudently this time.

"Mm… Not that I can remember."

I really don't know what she is trying to get with all these random questions.

"When was the last time you've had sex?" She asks extremely quickly.

"Uh… Uhm… Er.. not recently?" I cough out uncomfortably.

"Ok, ok. Any other symptoms that you have been experiencing?" She asks me suspiciously as if she knows something that I don't know.

I decide to man up (or woman up) and tell her about the bleeding.

"Several hours earlier, I noticed some bleeding even though I just had my period recently," I honestly inform her.

Her face scrunches up as if she's very displeased with the news.

"Normally, that happens every once in a while to girls. It really isn't all that rare."

"So I'm alright? No cause for alarm?" I feel almost relieved.

"I would like to say yes, but if you combine this symptom with your earlier symptom…" She trails off.

"What? You can't not tell me now," I hate UTIs, but it won't be the end of the world.

"Sweetheart, I think you have… Gonorrhea," she lets out the bomb.

"What? What makes you say that?" I feel like laughing because this is such an unrealistic situation. The only way I could have gotten it is if I had slept with other men, which I haven't.

My mother looks down at her hands anxiously. Her entire body language seems strange - something is off.

"What aren't you telling me?" We may not be a very close family, but I _do_ know when she's keeping something important from me.

I know something is wrong when she refuses to meet my eyes.

"I don't know why, but I didn't think too much about it when he came by…"

"When who came by, mom?"

"Gale visited me two days ago, something about how he hasn't been feeling good."

"Gale did? He never told me about this." I say, surprised.

"I think it must have been to embarrassing for him even though you're his wife."

Now I have to know why he came here.

"What did he have? A cold? I don't recall him sneezing."

"He told me about his symptoms just like you. Except his where an off-colored discharge from his penis and swollen testes. Those are the male symptoms of gonorrhea."

"Oh. my. god." I gasp out. "He gave me gonorrhea."

Then in an instant realization struck me full-force.

"Gale cheated on me!" I voice loudly. I am horrified.

"Now Katniss, lets not jumped to any conclusions."

"I'm not jumping on anything. There is no way he could have gotten an STD without sleeping around!" I feel so betrayed.

"What are you going to do?"

I am half way out of the door when she finishes her question.

* * *

><p>"Peeta! It's your turn to cover the counter!" I hear Verick shout into the back work room.<p>

I then finish kneading some bread dough, then I place the dough in a bowl, and then I cover it with a clean dish rag.

I walk into the front part of the bakery, and relieve Verick. For some reason, he hates working with the customers. Aside from doing piping work on cakes and cookies, biding to customers wishes is what I like to do the most.

"Thanks man!" He says with great appreciation. "Earlier, this one-eyed lady told me some sob story then basically begged me for free cakes. I mean what? Do I look like some sort of a fool? If you're going to beg for food, do not beg for one of the most expensive desserts that we make. Honestly."

I pat his back in understanding. It's true that I do see many starving people who stare hungrily at our baked goods, but there are also those who make up stories to get free food. Usually those are the ones that ask for a specific type of free food. I hate it, but I normally don't give out free food to the obviously starving - our bakery just can't afford it; on the other hand, I do in fact, give some left over trimmings of pies or cakes (and if it's a lucky day, disfigured cookies) to the malnourished children that gaze longingly into our windows.

Several non-eventful hours pass by of me taking and filling out orders. Every now and then, if I'm lucky, I make a trade with some poachers. My shift is almost over when I hear the bakery bell jingle. I look at the entrance, and I see Katniss little sister, Prim, walking towards the counter. I've only met her once or twice when she brings her to the bakery.

"Hello, Prim. What can I get for you?" I ask her, keeping my tone gentle.

"Hi, Peeta… I think I might need your help?"

"Oh really?" I ask her, perplexed.

"Yeah. I think that Katniss might be in a bad situation…"

This statement catches my full attention.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well, she came over this afternoon. She didn't see me, I was hiding in a room next to her and my mom. I couldn't completely hear what they were saying, but it sounds like she's going to confront Gale about something."

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little concerned about Katniss calling out Gale on whatever shit he has done.

"They should be fine right?" I think I'm trying to convince myself more than her.

"That's the thing. Katniss may never admit it, but I can tell. I can tell that he sometimes hurts her. You've noticed it too, right? Right?" My deepest worries have just been confirmed.

"Prim, this is what we are going to do," I try to muster up as much confidence as possible in my voice. "You're going to go home, and not let anyone know that you visited me here, ok?"

Katniss' cute little sister nods her head. "What are you going to do?" She asks.

"I'm going to make sure Gale doesn't hurt her," I pat her head and yell into the back kitchen announcing that I'm going to be taking a quick break.

I don't even wait for the permission to skip out early. I run. I run as fast as I can towards the house of the girl I love.

* * *

><p>Man, it's been way to long since my dick has gotten any action. All I want to do is go home, eat some food, and then bang the fuck out of my wife. Except stupid me just had to go and sleep with that one chick, who's name currently escapes me, that I knew had something nasty about her - hey she was hot though. Now I went and got myself a pretty ol' STD. I've been sleeping around with several other women, and I have been perfectly fine. Too bad I had sex with Katniss before my symptoms showed up. I have heard, though, that many times women don't even get symptoms. So maybe she will never know.<p>

I walk into my house, and I am upset when I don't hear any noises in the kitchen. I see Katniss sitting on a chair in my living room, so I stroll over to her.

"Where's dinner?" I straight up ask.

"Hello to you to, _deary_," there is a biting edge to her tone of voice that I do not appreciate.

"Where's dinner?" I ask again, this time a bit more impatiently.

"Dinner? I thought that you would have already munched on some crabs."

"What are you talking about? District Four hasn't sold anything to our district for a long time." Katniss is acting weird today.

"I think you know what I mean!"

"Do. Not. Raise. Your. Voice. At. Me." I say menacingly through my teeth.

"Do. Not. Cheat. On. Me." She says, mimicking my tone of voice.

"What?" I ask dumbfounded.

_How does she know?_

"Don't play innocent with me, Mr. Gonorrhea," she insults.

"You have no authority to accuse me of anything!" I shout at her.

"I can't believe you! How long have you been cheating on me?"

"I have never cheated on you!" I lie.

"You are such a hypocrite! You get all mad when I drink tea with Peeta, but you go off and fuck other girls!" Now I am pissed.

"You better shut your fucking mouth. And I don't want that kids name repeated in this house again." She is asking for it.

"You cheat on me, give me an STD, accuse me of cheating, and then you attack Peeta in his own bakery!" The bitch screeches.

I raise my right hand and I smack her across the face with the back of it. I have always been taught that a wife should always be obedient, and Katniss is far from that.

"He told you about that, didn't he?" I whisper into her ear.

"Gale," she says much calmer, "we are over. I can no longer put up with your shit."

Oh my god, the bitch wants to die.

I'll answer that wish.

My hands grasps her shoulders, and then I throw her onto the ground. The couch gets turned over, and the table that she halfway lands on breaks. She lets out a satisfying cry of alarm. I lift my leg into the air and prepare to stomp down on her with my foot. I propel my foot downwards with full intentions on crushing her face.

I won't get in trouble for this. This won't be the first time a husband kills his wife.

I see her eyes close tightly shut when my foot falls inches above her face, and then the next thing I know, I am hurled across the room - I connect with a crappily built bookcase. I then feel a sting on my cheek. I lift my hand to investigate, and a tooth falls onto it.

"I would suggest that you stay down where you are," the oh-so-irritating voice chimes out.

I look up and I see Peeta pulling Katniss into a sitting position. She looks too lost for words. Peeta gives me a stone-cold glare then picks up Katniss in his arms. He sets her frightened form onto the couch, and he whispers something into her ear. When he finishes, he walks back over to me.

"I'm really, really not a violent person. I don't like fighting or anything like that… But, I am going to enjoy this," as soon as he finishes I feel a quick, strong kick to my stomach.

"Ugh!" I grunt.

I am buckled over when I peter lifts my head up, and then slams it into the already broken bookcase.

"You should reflect on your actions today," he says icily, "because next time, I might not just stop here."

He walks over to Katniss. She greedily accepts his embrace as he carries her again, he arms wrapped tightly around his shoulder and chest. I am too astounded for words as I watch their retreating form exit my house.

* * *

><p><strong>End of Chapter 4. I hope you liked it. In one of the later chapters, I will have an explanation for why Gale's the way he is. He didn't just wake up one morning and decide to be an absolute jerk. Be prepared for some major Patniss in the next chapter! Nothing too major since I gave Katniss gonorrhea and all… I felt like I had to, to give her the incentive to finally leave Gale.<strong>

**I'm starting this new thing where you can track my writing status. On my profile I'll say what chapter I'm writing and how many words I have written. That way you all won't be in the dark with my progress. I think the next chapter the I do will be chapter 2 for **_**My Oppression.**_

**Please, Please Review :)** **All of you have been so good with that, and it makes me smile every time I read a new review.**


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